Arrests Made In Multi Walmart Protests

Wal-Mart workers and supporters launched protests in at least 15 cities Thursday, urging the world's largest retailer provide higher wages, better jobs and the right to unionize.

OUR Wal-Mart, a coalition including Wal-Mart workers, community organizers and the United Food & Commercial Workers organized day-long protests, urging Wal-Mart to pay full-time wages of $25,000 a year, or $12 an hour. It says many of Wal-Mart's 1.3 million associates are part-time employees averaging just $8.80 an hour.

The Wal-Mart protests - which follow last week's broader, widespread strikes among fast-food industry workers seeking $15 an hour wages from fast food chains - were scheduled for Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, Boston, Orlando, Minneapolis and Washington D.C., where Wal-Mart is threatening to cut expansion if it's required to pay a city mandated "living wage" of at least $12.50 an hour.

At least three current or former Wal-Mart employees were arrested in New York City Thursday morning for disorderly conduct as they attempted to deliver a petition to the office of Wal-Mart director Chris Williams. The independent board member is CEO of New York-based investment bank Williams Capital Management Trust. About three dozen protesters, some wearing green shirts with OUR Wal-Mart stenciled on them, participated in the rally.

Protesters also planned to rally outside of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's San Francisco apartment building. Mayer was appointed to Wal-Mart's board of directors in 2012.

Wal-Mart spokesperson Brooke Buchanan said the protests were having little impact on its 4,600 U.S. stores.

"What we're seeing is a lot of union activists and professional protesters - not a lot of Wal-Mart associates,'' Buchanan said. "We've got 1.3 million (employees) in the U.S. and this is a very small group which doesn't represent the vast majority of associates who work for Wal-Mart.''

"This is another stunt to garner attention,'' Buchanan said. "It's the same old cast members trying to get some attention for their cause."

The coalition says many part-time Wal-Mart employees barely make more than the federal $7.25 hourly minimum wage. But Buchanan said the company's full-time associates average about $12.80. Over 60% of the company's 1 million associates are full-time, she said. The company has another 300,000 managers who earn $50,000 to $170,000 a year, according to Wal-Mart's corporate website. Most began as hourly employees.

According to its latest proxy, Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke earned nearly $20 million in 2012, including pay, stock awards and incentives. That works out to about $9,600 an hour.